'Will send him to Babur': BJP's Arjun Singh warns TMC MLA Humayun Kabir over 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque plan

Kolkata: BJP leader Arjun Singh has warned suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir that he would "send him to Babur" if the legislator went ahead with his plan to lay the foundation stone of a 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque in West Bengal's Murshidabad on Saturday.

"If Kabir tries to build a Babri Masjid here, I will send him to Babur (Mughal emperor). There will be no foundation-laying ceremony, it is all drama," Singh said on Friday.

"India is Hindu-majority nation. One can build a mosque, but using the name of 'Babri' insults the Constitution," he added.

Kabir, suspended from the TMC earlier this week over the controversial project, is slated to address a rally at Muradighi Maidan on Saturday morning, from where he plans to lay the foundation stone for the proposed 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque.

Through Friday, workers were seen erecting a large stage, posters of the proposed structure lined nearby roads, and BSF contingents carried out route marches as part of heightened security arrangements.

The tension coincided with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's rally in Murshidabad on Thursday, where she repeatedly targeted Kabir without naming him, invoking Mir Jafar and warning against "insects" that weaken the organisation, remarks widely viewed as directed at the Bharatpur MLA.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also weighed in, alleging that Kabir's suspension was a "drama to fool Hindus".

Speaking in Purulia, Adhikari claimed, "He has been suspended only to mislead Hindu voters before the polls." Responding to charges from both Kabir and the BJP, TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty accused the renegade MLA of stoking unrest.

"Kabir is acting as an agent of the BJP-RSS to disturb peace in Murshidabad. People of the district are peace-loving and do not support his provocations," he said.

Rejecting the BJP's allegations as "baseless", Chakraborty added that the party "does not need lessons on harmony".